\n By: Ryan Henry
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KENNESAW, Ga. \u2013 The Owls will look to carry their momentum from last match into this week as they travel to Mercer on Thursday before hosting Tennessee Tech (Sunday).
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\nRaelyn Prince<\/a> and Rebecca Womer<\/a> each scored in the 2-2 draw against North Florida. Sara Hill<\/a> was in net while Ava Bradford<\/a> and Caroline Shaw<\/a> made their first collegiate starts.
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\nThursday, September 4
\n7 p.m. \u2013 Kennesaw State (0-3-1, 0-0-0 CUSA) vs. Mercer (2-2-0, 0-0-0 SoCon)
\nLocation: Betts Stadium | Macon, Ga.
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\nSunday, September 7
\n4 p.m. \u2013 Kennesaw State (0-3-1, 0-0-0 CUSA) vs. Tennessee Tech (0-5-1, 0-0-0 OVC)
\nLocation: Walens Family Field at Fifth Third Stadium | Kennesaw, Ga.
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\nFollow KSU Soccer –\u00a0X<\/a>\u00a0\/\u00a0Instagram<\/a>
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\nO Captain! My Captain!
\nCaptain Mai Jensen<\/a> made her return to the pitch for the first time in nearly a year last week. The Rockledge, Fla. native played a combined 73 minutes across both matches, getting the start in KSU’s 2-2 draw against North Florida (8\/31).
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\nFirst Timers
\nRaelyn Prince<\/a> and Rebecca Womer<\/a> each scored in the Owls’ match against the Ospreys (8\/31). It was their first career goals for KSU. Womer scored in the final minute of the first half and Prince converted her penalty kick in the 77th minute.
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\nNew in the Net
\nAfter appearing in each of the previous three matches, Sara Hill<\/a> made her first collegiate start against North Florida (8\/31). The freshman saved six of the eight shots she faced as the Owls drew the Ospreys. She has 12 saves on the season with a save percentage of 0.857%.
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\nNew Name, Same Feel
\nOn August 19, Kennesaw State announced that the field at Fifth Third Stadium, home of the Owls’ football, soccer and lacrosse programs, will be named Walens Family Field in recognition of a transformative $4 million philanthropic gift from Dave and Donna Walens.
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\nCUSA Preseason Poll
\nKennesaw State was picked to finish eighth in the Conference USA coaches’ preseason poll, tallying 47 total points. The Black and Gold finished seventh in their inaugural CUSA season with a conference record of 2-4-3. The conference expanded to 12 teams following the additions of Missouri State and Delaware, who were predicting to finish third and seventh respectively. Liberty tops the poll with 119 points and nine first-place votes.
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\nScouting the Bears
\nMercer enters Thursday’s match\u00a0with a 2-2 record, having previously defeated Alabama State 6-1. Freshman Payton Nutzman had a seven-point outing, recording a hat trick and an assist.
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\nPreseason all-conference selection Lena Dykes has played all 90 minutes in three matches to go along with one assist.
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\nScouting the Golden Eagles
\nTTU has gone winless in its first matches, posting an 0-5-1 record. The previous match saw the Golden Eagles fall to Miami 3-0 in Ohio.
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\nThe reigning three-time Ohio Valley Conference regular season champions were once again picked to finish atop the conference. They bring back three all-conference selections from the previous year in Maggie Conrad, Lucia Cuadra and Katie Toney.<\/p>\n
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